Support BadgerBOTS for VEX IQ World Championship!

Have you heard the exciting news? BadgerBOTS are going to Dallas, Texas and we need your support! Small or large, any amount helps. Read about our journey to see why we need you as part of our story.

This season, three Binford Elementary School teams from Bloomington, Indiana, led by coaches Shelly Hatfield and Ben Northcutt Bohmert, qualified for Indiana’s State Robotics Competition held on Saturday, March 25, 2023. These three teams were the only Monroe County elementary school teams qualifying for State this year. All three Binford BadgerBOT teams put in countless hours outside of school hours planning, building, testing, rebuilding, coding, driving, practicing, and documenting the process of building their robots to compete in this year’s game called VEX IQ Slap Shot.

During the state competition at Lucas Oil Stadium, all thirteen BadgerBOT members representing young engineers in grades 3 through 6 had their best day of the season so far! They drove, programmed, and communicated with alliance partners from other teams better than any other competition this school year. Instead of winding down as the season progressed, these teams were amped and ready to learn more.

All this hard work was rewarded with three qualifications for the Worlds Robotics Championship for the Binford teams. These BadgerBOTS will join other top teams from as far away as Australia, Japan, Uganda, and China at Worlds in Dallas, Texas May 2 through 4, 2023. It will be an unimaginable learning experience and a celebration of all the accomplishments the students made this season.

Registration and travel expenses to attend Worlds for the thirteen team members, their chaperones, and coaches will exceed $21,000. This is where we need the community’s help! Can you support these young students in their journey to Dallas? Your donation could support team registration which is $1200 per team, might help them buy team shirts to promote a sense of teamwork or provide travel expenses for one of the team members. Any donation amount is greatly appreciated! For donations of $500 or more, we’ll include your name or logo on the back of our team shirts (if information is provided by April 3).

Thank you so much for considering. We are excited to continue our journey in May with your kind support.